June 19, 2007

Things

Here's a post we wish we'd read on the internet sometime in the last 9 months. So we'll just write it for someone else to find.

Garage sales and hand-me-downs
The way to go!

Gymboree
Really nice baby clothes that are pretty expensive. Nice thick cottons that wash well and last a long time.

Nota bene: Gymboree sometimes has great sales on their website, as was pointed out to us by Whitney. I won't pay $26 for any garment for my baby, no matter how cute and clever the monkey embroidered on the front. However, $6.99 is another matter entirely.

There's a sale on right now, in fact, though it's pretty picked over.

Baby Gap
Mixed feelings about Baby Gap. We've only been in the store a few times, and we don't entirely like it. So many of the clothes seem to be based around the idea that it's really super fun to dress a baby like an adult. (Put them in jeans, for example. Tease their hair. Who knows.) In any case, we don't happen to share this idea. We like our baby to look like a baby.

That said, some of our all-time favorite baby clothes have come from Baby Gap -- things he has worn many, many times. Things that are cute and sturdy.

Old Navy
The cheaper version of Baby Gap, and the quality is not as good -- the fabric is thinner, and quicker to fade. Nonetheless, a couple of our favorite long-sleeve long-pant one-pieces are from Old Navy.

Zutano
The prints come in fun colors, but the quality is questionable and not nearly worth the money. We've seen the fabric fade after only a few washings, and heard reports of same from others. The fit of the clothes can be weird. Even the snaps can be strange. (Yes, we have developed opinions on snaps.)

There's one caveat about Zutano: the socks are excellent. We toast their socks! All through the winter, Elliot constantly wore -- as you might imagine -- socks. And they were almost always Zutano socks, because they stay on. Simple!

Babies R Us
They have a lot of "outfits". We are scared of "outfits". We have mostly used them for buying onesies and basics. (Sleeping gowns, for example.)

The kindness of others
It might sound like we buy Elliot a lot of clothes, but it's not so -- there's just a lot of turnover. And a lot of washing. Plus, there's a whole team of people who always make sure that Elliot has enough -- of everything. Food, clothes, attention, entertainment, wishes, smiles. Our friends and family are good to us, and good to our boy.

7 comments:

Kate said...

As a proud member of team Elliot could you let us know current sizes?

It's garage sale season and I'm happy to keep my eyes open...

She She said...

I agree about garage sales and hand-me-downs. As my husband says, "Retail's for suckers." I've also had really good luck on ebay. I'm ambivalent about Baby Gap too, especially their clothes for girls. Some are cute, some just way too sexy for a 3 year old.

w. wilson said...

This post touches on matters near and dear to my heart, though I confess we are not nearly as prudent as you two (and more vain?). At this point, Graham is certainly better clothed than we are.,

Zutano one pieces are a mess: short torsoed and weirdly snapped. However, I second your love of the socks; also: the pants are great. They run big and come in snappy colors and wear well (G has worn the same few pairs for 2 months). Zutano has an outlet in Montpelier, VT, so we head over whenever we visit the grandparents. Let us know if you need anything!

Lastly: Old Navy! Cheaper and less "fashiony" than Gap. Our favorite pjs come from ON.

Anonymous said...

As a mother of 2 girls I concur with the durability of the Gymboree stuff. Currently Laney is wearing all of Millie's old summer stuff, most of it Gymboree bought by my mother-in-law, and you would never know it's been through 2 kids. God bless my mom-in-law and her deep pockets!

Also, our favorite pjs for the under 3 set come from The Children's Place. They are slim fitting cotton footy pjs that zip--none of those troublesome snaps. A warning about The Children's Place: sometimes they have some really weird stuff for little girls. Think bared midriff teeny- bopper looking stuff. Just ignore it and head straight for the pjs. Here in SLC they happen to be on sale for $6.

Jenny

sarah said...

Team Elliot at this point is accepting clothes for probably 12 months and up. Far up, if it's cute: we just bought some stuff for next summer. Planning ahead!

About old navy: so cute! so not fashiony! so "i'm not trying to be fashiony but i still reflect your tastes!"

but our favorite winter old navy piece (a velour onepiece footy thing with the word "little" embroidered on the pocket) never snapped at the crotch. And our favorite summer green-striped footie is already starting to pill.

Maybe it's our detergent?

She She said...

Also: fleece Zutano booties are the best (until they start walking and the fleece isn't so great for staying upright in the wood floors). They snap and actually stay on their feet.

w. wilson said...

Sarah- How do you guess what will fit Elliot next summer? It just seems like it could possible be several different sizes...do you just go big and hope for the best?